Ten Years Away and Counting: The World's Most Serious Risk
The World Economic Forum has just released its Global Risks 2016 report of likely risks and their potential impact on the world. The report is divided into two sections: those risks that might occur in the next year to 18 months and others that may occur in the next ten years.
The report concluded that the most serious risk within the next ten years regards water: while this can include flooding, what is expected to have more impact is that hundreds of millions of people will have limited or no access to safe drinking water.
The Global Risks reports began in 2006 and water concerns have been listed on the report before, but never have they attained a top position for impact as they have in the 2016 report. Other risks were also noted such as failure to address climate change; mass migration; the spread of infectious disease; sanitation issues; and regional conflicts. Interestingly, water crises are often related and interconnected with all of these concerns.